Expert Comment on Palliative Care for Cancer

New Brunswick, N.J., August 1, 2022 – Palliative care is a subspecialty of medicine that focuses on the comprehensive treatment of pain and symptoms accompanying many serious illnesses, including cancer. In cancer settings, palliative care helps patients do their best, both physically and mentally while receiving disease directed treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. The Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, provides pain management and support services for patients at all stages of cancer and other serious illnesses.

“There are many misconceptions about the purpose of palliative care and what it involves. Many people think that it is simply end-of-life care, or that it means stopping cancer treatment. For cancer patients undergoing treatments, palliative care can provide excellent pain and symptom management that can help them feel better,’ notes M. Hamza Habib MD, FACP, FAAHPM, MRCP, director of Outpatient Palliative Medicine and Cancer Pain Service at Rutgers Cancer Institute. “It can also address the challenges that could keep patients from receiving further cancer treatments due to uncontrolled symptoms. In certain cases, an approach of combined palliative care along with cancer treatments can help increase both quality of life and improve overall survival.”

August is Palliative Care and Cancer Pain Awareness Month. Dr. Habib is available for additional comment on this topic. Read more about this topic in our latest edition of Cancer Connection Magazine: https://cinj.org/patient-care/back-control.